SLCPI to support Health Minister for transparent tender system

The Sri Lanka Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industries (SLCPI) in a statement to the media said that they highly commend Minster of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne for initiating the introduction of a transparent and indubitable new tender procedure to purchase drugs and medical equipment for all the state sector hospitals and clinics in the country.  

The SLCPI through its members is the main stakeholder in the supply of a large percentage of medical supplies to the nation, and has said that the transparent tender procedure was a dire need for the health service of this country, so that all alleged irregularities, wastage, corruption and fraud could be dealt with by the Ministry of Health. The Chamber also notes the positive changes done in the National Medicinal Regulatory Authority (NMRA) which they say would help to see that there is an uninterrupted supply of quality pharmaceuticals to doctors and patients.

SLCPI President Colonel Chandra Jayaratne says that the Chamber looks forward to working closely with the NMRA to ensure the delivery of effective, safe, and high-quality healthcare solutions to the patients of Sri Lanka. He adds that the SLCPI welcomes the appointment of qualified professionals with a good track record of high integrity at its helm. The SLCPI therefore is confident of consistency in implementation of the policy that will be fair to all stakeholders, which ultimately benefits patients. Whilst the SLCPI is happy with the progress made at the NMRA, there is some concern by the Chamber about the NMRA’s position of not accepting new files for registration. The Chamber hopes that once the backlog of old files has been cleared and the NMRA has recruited additional pharmacists, the new registrations could be fast-tracked so patients and doctors could have access to newer drugs.